Glasgow Warriors centre aiming to fill boots of departed Scotland ace as new season draws closer

Glasgow Warriors centre Johnny Ventisei is targeting more regular first team minutes this season following the departure of Scotland international Huw Jones.

The British & Irish Lion departed Scotstoun for a move to Toulon this summer, creating a cap in midfield that 21-year-old Ventisei is hoping to fill. Warriors have added utility back Bayley Kuenzle to add more attacking depth while fellow Academy graduates Kerr Yule and Kerr Johnston will also fancy their chances of making an impact at senior level.

Then there’s Sione Tuipulotu and Stafford McDowall who are expected to be the undisputed first choices in the 12 and 13 jerseys for the 2026/27 season. It means that competition for places is as fierce as ever but Ventisei hopes that starting with a good pre-season under his belt will stand him in good stead.

“Keep progressing, learning from the guys in front of me” - Young centre targets more Glasgow Warriors minutes

Asked what his goals for the upcoming campaign were, and about Jones leaving, the ex Scotland under 20 skipper said: “I guess just probably keep progressing, learning from the guys in front of me like Stafford and Sione, and then hopefully get some more opportunities on the back of that. Fingers crossed I hopefully get a couple more innings."

Ventisei was speaking after Glasgow’s 47-31 defeat at the hands of Newcastle Red Bulls in their first pre-season warm up game ahead of the 2026/27 campaign. The visitors couldn’t match their hosts for experience and trailed 35-7 at the break.

The second half was a much more even contest as Warriors fought back to make the final scoreline more respectable. Ultimately, the result wasn’t as important as the young Glasgow side getting some minutes in their legs and testing themselves against veteran players like England international scrum-half Raffi Quirke and South African try machine Werner Kok, who lit up the URC last season with Ulster.

“After a couple of weeks of hard work, it's good to get back out there and get a bit of game time,” added Ventisei. “Obviously the result didn't go our way, but I think there's a lot of positives we can take from that game.

“I think the challenge at half-time was just to try and get back into that game. We felt that there were opportunities for us to still win the game. So, definitely, again, positives, but a lot to take from the game as well.

“They [Newcastle] have got a lot of new guys there and guys who have played for the British Lions. So, a very tough opponent, but it's good to get up against some of the best guys.

“You can see signs of what we're building throughout the weeks in training. So, there's definitely positives we can take from that. But again, there's still a lot to work on. We don't want to concede that many points, but we'll work on that type of thing.

“Because of the quality that Newcastle have, you're learning so much whilst playing. I think it'll definitely teach us a couple of things.”

Another experienced campaigner who lined up for Red Bulls in the match was Scotland centre Chris Harris. The 46-times capped, 2021 British & Irish Lions tourist, is a player that Ventisei looks up to.

He added: “You can see him play for the Lions and defence is one of his main things. So, definitely I can look up to him and take a couple of things from that.”

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